A young Indian child cries as she watches police detain communist activists at a rally in Hyderabad against utility price hikes.

AP

President Obama watches workers building an engine during a tour of the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant in Redford, Mich., where he later spoke on the economy and “fiscal cliff” negotiations.

AFP/Getty Images

Harry Jackson, 13, the oldest of the choristers at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, sings as the choir prepares for its busiest season of the year.

ZUMA Press

A visitor inspects a giant illuminated sphere that’s part of the Lyon, France, Festival of Lights.

ZUMA Press

Nobel laureates and their guests sit for the Nobel Banquet at City Hall in Stockholm, Sweden. The European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Reuters

A man brushes snow off the top of a military monument at Mansudae in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Reuters

Monte Carlo casino in Monaco, France, can be seen reflected in the massive Christmas decorations outside its doors.

Reuters

Spanish police carry a member of the Mortgage Victims’ Platform away from financial company Bankia’s headquarters, which the group tried to occupy during a protest against evictions in Madrid.

AP

Protesters burn an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino in commemoration of International Human Rights Day in Manila.

AP

Chief Raoni Metuktire, leader of Brazil’s Kayapo tribe, speaks (yes, speaks) about a campaign to protect the Amazon at the Geneva Press Club in Switzerland.

EPA

A supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez grasps an action figure of the much-maligned ruler. He underwent surgery in Cuba today after finding out last week that his cancer had returned.

Reuters

Sikh guard Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar made history today, becoming the first guardsman to wear a turban rather than a bearskin hat on duty at Buckingham Palace.

ZUMA Press

Fireworks top off the tree-lighting ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Ibirapuera Park.

ZUMA Press

Meera, a young Indian girl, totes her family’s wares — paper pinwheels — to market in Mumbai for sale. Meera works after school to help support her family.

AP

Survival pods dubbed “Noah’s Arc” by their creator, a farmer named Liu Qiyuan, stand his yard in Qiantun, China. The apocalypse-obsessed farmer hopes the government will adopt his creation for protection against tsunamis and earthquakes.

AFP/Getty Images

Visitors watch a Santa-clad aquarium worker feed sardines at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea.

ZUMA Press

A German contractor inspects a segment of excavated tunnel in Pasewalk. Berlin’s Allied Museum says the tube, discovered earlier this year, is part of a 450-meter spy tunnel from Rudow in West Berlin to Treptow in the east.

EPA

Swiss F-5E Tiger II jets release flares during a flight demonstration at a Swiss Air Force ceremony at an air base in Duebendorf.

Reuters

A confident group of Syrian rebels watch a nationalist jet fly over their position in Fafeen village. The rebels, with help from an al-Qaida-linked group, have taken control of a sprawling military base there after a two-day battle.

AP

With help from the microalgae breeding in this petrie dish, Pierre Calleja, manager of Fermentalg, announced the French firm’s successful test of its biofuel on a standard, unmodified car engine.

Reuters

Indian youths sit in a grounded boat at Triveni Sangam, in Allahabad. The blessed area, according to Hindu tradition, is the confluence of three rivers: the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythic, “invisible” Saraswati.

AFP/Getty Images

Four-year-old Andrew Garcia and mom Ashley welcome home dad Pfc. Carlos Saldana at a celebration in Albuquerque for the return of New Mexico National Guardsmen from deployment in Egypt.

ZUMA Press

An (invisible?) Spanish street performer poses with an iPad showing the numerically momentous time — 12:12:12 on 12/12/12 — at Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

Reuters

What a racket for Belgium’s retiring star Kim Clijsters, whose exhibition match in Antwerp marks the end of her pro career.

Reuters

Pilgrims, including one who’s got a seemingly healthy relationship with his bike, sleep at Basilica’s square in Mexico City ahead of celebrations marking the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Reuters

A couple with a child embrace after being released from the mall at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., where two people were killed by a gunman.

AP

Pope Benedict XVI tries not to look too confused as he uses his iPad to post his first tweet since joining Twitter.

Reuters

A teary silent protester wears her problems on her… face, at a demonstration in Lansing against Michigan’s new right-to-work law.

AP

Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims gather in Dhaka for a funeral prayer in honor of Islami Oikya Jote party leader Mufti Fazlul Huq Amini.

AP

An immodest Ukranian parliament member clambors over the dais amid scuffles between parties during the very first session for the newly-elected governing body in Kiev.

AFP/Getty Images

Greek municipal employees push over barriers protecting the grounds of parliament in Athens. There were no clashes between cops and the protestors, who are seeking to prevent forced firings.

AP

Around 550 children (and one lonely looking little brother) sit at a massive First Communion Mass organized by a local radio station at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Mexico.

Reuters

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi adds a second goal (his 88th of the year) to his record-breaking tally during Barcelona’s early-round Spanish King’s Cup match against Cordoba.

AFP/Getty Images

Religious dignitaries gather at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral for a ceremony marking the beginning of a year-long commemoration of the church’s 850th anniversary.

AP

Bandhan Kerketta, right, is congratulated by teammate Deepak Kushwaha after their team won a relay at India’s National Sports Meet for the Blind in New Delhi.

AP

An activist hurls stones at riot cops guarding the Tucuman provincial house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during protests over the acquittal of 13 suspects in a kidnapping and prostitution case.

Reuters

Indian firefighters attempt to control a fire — blamed on a short circuit at one of the shops — at an electronics market in the old quarters of New Delhi.

AFP/Getty Images

An Albanian teen cleans snow from the roof in front of his window just outside the city of Kukes.

Reuters

Israeli soldiers take cover behind a fruit stand during clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians in Hebron, West Bank. The scuffles broke out before the funeral of a Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli troops.

Reuters

Queen Elizabeth inspects the rows of gold reserves in a vault at the Bank of England in London.

AFP/Getty Images

A visitor peers into a piece called ‘Thought’ by Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen is at Kunsthalle in Duesseldorf, Germany.

EPA

A member of Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency loads into an incinerator some of about 1.2 tons of illegal narcotics destroyed by he government this year.

Reuters

A young elephant plays in the snow at the zoo in Berlin, Germany.

AFP/Getty Images

Competitors jockey for position in midair during the quarterfinal heat of the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Telluride, Colo.

Getty Images

Indian army soldiers perform Mallakhamb, a form of traditional Indian gymnastics, during a rehearsal for Victory Day celebrations in Mumbai.

AP

Towering racks await the delivery of the 750 million pages of the British Library newspaper collection at its new environmentally controlled facility in Boston Spa, England.